Christopher Robichaud

Professor // Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Christopher Robichaud is Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He received his doctorate in philosophy from MIT. His work focuses on areas in ethics, political philosophy, and social epistemology. Dr. Robichaud has been a member of the faculty since 2006. He also teaches at the Harvard Extension School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Previously, he has taught philosophy courses at Texas A&M University, the University of Vermont in Burlington, and Tufts University.

Currently, his research interests include exploring what a “post-truth” age of politics might be, and what, if anything, can be said for or against such an age. He is also interested in examining what kind of intellectual virtue is captured by the idea of healthy skepticism, and what place such a virtue has within a democratic society.

Dr. Robichaud is also dedicated to bringing philosophical ideas to a wider audience, and pursues this goal by looking at issues in moral and political philosophy that arise in pop culture stories, especially superhero narratives. His articles can be found in the volumes Superheroes and Philosophy, Supervillains and Philosophy, Batman and Philosophy, Iron Man and Philosophy, X-Men and Philosophy,Spider-Man and Philosophy, Superman and Philosophy,Watchmen and Philosophy, The Avengers and Philosophy, Heroes and Philosophy, True Blood and Philosophy, Walking Dead and Philosophy, Game of Thrones and Philosophy and Dungeons & Dragons and Philosophy. He recently contributed online content to the EdX Smithsonian course, “The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact on Pop Culture.”

In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Robichaud is currently pursuing the pedagogical goal of “gamifying” certain components of the curriculum at the Harvard Kennedy School. His efforts in using gameplay to facilitate learning have been incorporated into areas ranging from the core MPP curriculum to some Executive Education programs.